The Retro Countertop Style We’ll Be Seeing More of in 2023 Kitchen Renovations

What does 2023 have in store? In Design Psychic, our community of editors, experts, and tastemakers predicts the trends coming soon to a home near you.

Before 2020, ROI was the primary factor driving home renovations, according to Angi’s State of Home Spending survey. But the pandemic changed all that. Now creating a home that’s better suited to your needs is what matters, and that motivation continues to strengthen each year: In 2022, an all-time high of 61 percent of homeowners indicated that lifestyle considerations were the top reasons for doing work to their home. The top projects of the past year? Painting an interior space, remodeling a bathroom, and installing new flooring. Still, our wants are constantly changing, so we asked five pros what renovations will lead the way in 2023. Read on for the upgrades on their radar. 

Shinier Plumbing Fixtures

“We are excited for chrome to be making its way back to the forefront of design,” says Jessica Hansen, founder of Tandem Design, noting she’s seeing it mostly in the form of tapware and light fixtures. Nate Berkus agrees: “White metals have been creeping their way back into my projects,” he recently shared with us. For him, this metal gives off Art Deco-meets-five-star-hotel vibes, meaning it’s a recipe for a spalike space. 

Screen Time Optional

Anand Sheth predicts more hidden TV cabinets in our future. “We’ve seen so many techy options like screens that pop out of credenzas, but I’m imagining beautiful bookshelves and wall cladding that thoughtfully integrate and obscure the big screen,” he shares. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. In the living space pictured above, designer Zoe Feldman suggested her clients disguise their TV with bifold doors, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Stone Blue. 

Bigger, Better Outdoor Living Spaces

“People are constantly looking to maximize their space as much as possible—I believe 2023 will be the year of gardens, decks, and outdoor kitchens,” shares Liv Madeline, a Londoner who has accrued a following by documenting her own renovations on Instagram. These past three years, we got our toes wet with firepits and (literally) plunge pools, but now it’s time to take things to a new level with extra-large decks that open up completely to the indoors, and partially covered kitchens with custom pizza ovens.  

Retro Countertops

“I have been seeing a recurrence of the tile countertop and I’m loving it,” says Racheal Jackson. The artist behind Banyan Bridges plans to install a fully tiled island early next year, clearly proving she doesn’t care that it’s an overwhelmingly “unpopular” choice. “I’m so excited about the color and texture it will be bringing to the space,” she adds. 

Kitchens With a Place for Everything

We tapped the experts at Space Theory, the sister company of Henrybuilt, to see what’s cooking in the kitchen, and its team shared it’s all about utilizing next-level planning software. Specifically, resources like its Design Engine, which allows customers to virtually configure their kitchen based on their everyday needs (you can even account for where you want to store your sponges under the sink). The program also flags potential measurement problems. 

We’ve witnessed an increase in attention to these kinds of details this year. Take former chef Brian Maiorana’s newly remodeled galley space (pictured above right), which features a long stretch of deep cabinets on one side, industrial metro shelves on the other, and an easy-to-clean stainless steel backsplash. So 2023’s motto? Work smarter, not harder.